Turning scraps into garden gold

There are a few ways that you can turn garden and kitchen waste into a valuable gardening product.

We all know about making and using compost (and all of us should be making our own compost!), but that’s not the only way of using kitchen and garden waste. These fantastic new products from Mon Exteriors offer easy ways to compost, bokashi and farm worms.

Bokashi

Bokashi is great because it can transform just about anything into compost – cooked food, dairy and even small bones. It uses an air-tight container and Bokashi bacteria as a compost activator and has been specifically designed to initiate the breakdown of organic waste. The Bokashi Bin from Mon Exteriors is stylish and compact, so it will look good in your kitchen, and because it is air-tight, no unpleasant odours escape and pervade your home. It also comes with a compactor so that you can squish down the contents for more efficient operation.

Mon Exteriors also offers the Liquid Bokashi Spray, a Bokashi Microbe Solution that is made up of friendly bacteria to get the process started and accelerate it when needed. It contains fermentation extracts, natural enzymes, essential oils (lemon, lime, orange, pine), citric acid and alcohol surfactant, so it smells great and can even be used as a cleaning spray or to eliminate odours from bins and the like!

Worm farms

Earth worms are very powerful organisms that have basically created the earth’s soil. With the Worm Farm from Mon Exteriors you can harness their composting abilities and end up with your own worm casings and tea, which will work wonders for your garden and potted plants. The two-tier Worm Farm is stylish and customisable, and doesn’t take up too much space. It comes with two working trays and the base, has good aeration and a 2-lite flat tray that collects the rich worm tea. You can also add as many extra tiers as you need, and you can add stylish wooden or plastic legs, or a drainage kit for easier drainage of the tea.

Compost caddies and bags

These compost caddies are attractive and practical, and designed to sit on your kitchen counter or under it, ready to collect kitchen scraps. They have lockable, air-tight lids to retain moisture and contain odours, as well as a carry handle on the 7-litre model. When they’re full you simply empty them into the composter. The caddies come in 7-litre and 9-litre sizes.

While the caddies can be used on their own, it makes more sense to use the compatible compostable bags with them. These bags, which are made from a starch-based polymer, are made to fit inside the caddies and so come in the same 7-litre and 9-litre sizes. When the bags are full, simply throw them into the tumble composter where the bag and its contents will all biodegrade. The bags will break down within weeks in warm and moist conditions.

Tumble Composters

Mon Exteriors has introduced a range of classy and stylish tumble composters in a few different sizes (70L, 160L and 245L). The largest unit is perfect for large homes and gardens, with two chambers for composting at differing stages of maturity, sliding doors and a geared crank system for easy tumbling. The 70-litre unit is more suited to small homes or gardens, but can still handle a fair load. It has features like internal mixing bars and sliding doors, and is constructed out of heavy duty materials for a long lifespan, even outdoors.